Brooks Hair and Beauty Show 2014

PHOTOSHOOT Magazine was invited to shadow beauty student Cleo Young for the day with Bedford College’s annual Brooks Hair and Beauty Show ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ at the Corn Exchange, Bedford.

My ideas started off fairly simple. I researched various looks, pinpointing the small details. I then set an image in my mind, which at this point, I didn’t actually know would work. I then broke down every tiny detail, looking at all the different ways I could make it possible. Once I figured that out, the rest was just determination, stubbornness and lots of tweaking.

I am very happy with my choice for the show because I knew from the start it would be a challenge and I do like a good challenge.

The main material I chose was feathers but buying them in bulk was very costly. I asked around and my friend, Paul Barker, said he may be able to get some for me. Thankfully he did and supplied me with two bags of mixed feathers, which was plenty. Other materials, I just picked up along the way, mostly online.

The whole look cost me approximately £60, including all the little extras such as contacts and lashes, nails etc. I always try to find the most cost-effective materials. I made the bone-like spikes on the costume myself out of toilet tissue, PVC glue and water.

The preparations for the show went well on the day. I was not 100% happy with it and felt there was room for improvement. But there is a lot of pressure putting something together for the event and that was unnerving. You can also practise making the costume dozens of times but you just don’t know what will happen on show day itself. I didn’t even get to practise the hairstyle beforehand, so we worked blind and hoped for the best. For me, that just added to the adrenaline.

Preparation

I did lots of research and doodling ideas and created a mood board. I then carried out a quick test to see if I could create the effect, once the base of wings was done and I could start attaching the feathers. They were delivered to me … in a natural condition, so I had to clean, dry and sort them, ready for stitching. I researched birds and how their feathers spread out.

Here I am making the base to the wings; all by hand. I am not a professional designer or dressmaker so I just worked from an idea I had. I took it slowly and did it one step at at time.

I finished the base of the wings and practised the birds wing effect before stitching on the feathers.

Each one was hand-stitched by me as I did not want anyone else to help in case anything went wrong.

There was a choice of two outfits; a small black dress and a plain white catsuit. I loved the dress but my model was more comfortable in the catsuit. I managed to trail the outfit to see if it worked, which it did.

Making the Nails and Horns